WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE – 1/28/25

SELECT BOARD

Adaptive playground funding discussion.  In its meeting last Tuesday, the Select Board, along with School Committee members and the chair of the Community Preservation Committee, discussed potential ways to fund the proposed town adaptive playground. CPC chair Ken Weismantel explained that the CPC’s decision to allocate $300,000 to the playground is due to its proposed location at Marathon school where residents would not have access to it during school session hours and, as such, the School Department should find the money in its budget. Susan Rothermich, assistant superintendent of finance and operations for the schools, noted that the committee did months long research on the location and that Marathon School is ideal for its flat surface – the reason why adaptive equipment could not be added to existing town playgrounds. Center School property was not considered due to the current proposal for its reuse in a partnership between the HCA and town departments. Select Board members suggested the CPC’s funding half the cost, and also questioned whether the town’s free cash could be used. Weismantel suggested adding equipment over time to cut costs. The issue will be revisited for discussion at a future meeting. 

FY26 comprehensive budget. Town Manager Elaine Lazarus submitted the FY26 comprehensive budget for review by the Select Board. While town departments were initially requested to limit budget requests to no more than a 1.3% increase due to budget constraints, Lazarus and chief financial officer Kyla LaPierre, agreed to a 3.34% increase to avoid deep cuts to core services and personnel. A targeted use of the town’s free case for certain expenses and town events was suggested, while it was noted that doing so would limit free cash options for next year. Town departments will discuss their requests with the Select Board over the upcoming month.  

Town Meeting articles. The board also discussed articles proposed for Annual Town Meeting in May, including a long-term lease for the proposed Center School reuse building plan, the creation of a special revenue account for economic development for the money generated by the meals tax, and two placeholder articles for voluntary PFAS testing for private wells and the creation of an advisory board for economic development. 

Select Board strategizes how to fund proposed adaptive playground, receives updated town budget numbers (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 01/22/25)

PLANNING BOARD 

Articles for Town Meeting warrant approved. At its Monday meeting, the Planning Board approved the articles to be placed on the warrant for Annual Town Meeting ahead of the February 3rd deadline, with chair Rob Benson noting that the inclusion of articles on the warrant does not indicate the board’s support and that public discussion on the articles may take place at future meetings. The board’s approval was unanimous to all articles except for an article to rezone properties at the intersection of Hayward and South Streets from residential lakefront to rural business. The other articles included were administrative placeholders. 

Winter Street stone wall. The board unanimously voted that a stone wall located at 61 Winter Street (which was build to replace a prior stone wall damaged by a vehicle impact) that the Open Space Preservation Commission believes to encroach on OSPC land, did not constitute a scenic road violation, due to the lack of clarity regarding historical markers and the reason why the wall had been replaced. 

Planning Board approves articles for Town Meeting warrant (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 01/28/25)

COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE

At its meeting on Thursday, the Community Preservation Committee unanimously voted to approve the Open Space Preservation Commission’s funding request to purchase the Casucci property (located at the back of 89 Saddle Hill Road) for $35,500, provided the money from a prior state grant covers the administrative, legal and surveying fees and that a conservation restriction be placed on the land within five years to permit trails to be built. 

The CPC also reviewed articles to be placed on the warrant for Annual Town Meeting, and chair Wesimantel noted that he would go before the Capital Improvement Committee at its Monday meeting to present the projects approved for CPC funding for FY26, with the $600,000 funding request for the Center School reuse project expected to be primary focus.  

Community Preservation Committee votes to approve request to fund purchase of Casucci property (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 01/24/25)

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

State Hearing on Department of Public Works’ Vegetation Management Plan

At a Friday hearing before the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, Donald Sutherland and Carol Esler of the Hopkinton Sustainable Green Committee’s Environmental Working Group spoke out strongly against the Department of Public Works’ proposed vegetation management plan due to its planned use of herbicides on rights of way, including public roads, sidewalks and bike paths. The Conservation Commission plans to review the VMP at its meeting this evening. Sutherland deemed the plan to be an “unsafe, ecologically harmful, unfettered use of pesticides, compounding the town’s toxic chemical health risk,” while Esler expressed concerns over the planned application on sidewalks where toddlers, pets, and other members of the community regularly walk, as well as its long term impact on the town. She advocated for an organic or integrated pest management plan in lieu of the proposed VMP. The MDAR noted that they would take the comments under advisement in making a decision about the plan. Comments to the MDAR can be emailed to Clayton.l.Edwards@mass.gov until February 7th. 

Advocates against herbicide use appear at state hearing on town’s vegetative management plan (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 01/25/25)

PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Elementary School Building Committee

At its Tuesday meeting, the Elementary School Building Committee discussed Charleswood School updates. They intend to meet with the Conservation Commission on January 28th to discuss potential road improvements for the project. Additional issues discussed included: an update regarding mitigation efforts with abutters, several of whom have been non-responsive or have “for sale” signs recently put up; a report on geothermal wells to be installed; and a review of finances for technology and furniture, fixtures and equipment. It was noted that the project has been running under budget to date. 

ESBC discusses improvements, abutter outreach (Article by Susan Gonsalves, 01/21/25)

School Committee 

At its meeting last Thursday, the School Committee adopted the FY26 budget, which will be passed on to the town manager. They also approved the competency determination for high school graduation, proposed by high school principal Evan Bishop at the last meeting, in light of the vote in November to remove MCAS test scores as a graduation requirement. The approved CD will require students to receive passing grades in 9th and 10th grade English and mathematics, as well as in one of three core science classes. Support will be offered to students struggling with MCAS or coursework.

An update on the proposed adaptive playground was given, noting that the Capital Improvement Committee did not approve the project as part of its capital plan going to Annual Town Meeting, and the Community Preservation Committee opted to suspend all future expenditures beyond $300,000 allocated to the project. A vote whether to sponsor an adaptive playground article for Town Meeting, with a funding source to be identified, is scheduled for a January 30th Zoom meeting at 7p.m., since it was not on the meeting agenda and did not comply with the 48 hours notice requirement. 

School Committee approves competency determination for graduation, budget (Article by Susan Gonsalves, 01/24/25)

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